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My dog ate seashells and vomited. Should I remove them or deter her?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Female | spayed | 1 year old | 45 lbs

This morning my dog coughed(vomited) up grass blades and seashell bits. We have seashells in our rocks for decoration. How can I deter her from eating them, or do I need to remove them from the backyard completely?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Lotus Altholtz

Answered By Lotus Altholtz

Veterinarian, Board-Certified Lab Animal Medicine Specialist

Published on March 13th, 2018

There are spray-on products such as bitter apple which may deter pets from chewing on furniture, eating seashells in your backyard decor, etc. However in an outdoor setting, such sprays will likely get washed away each time it rains. If Sadie is very persistent about eating the seashells, removing them completely or relocating to a place out of her reach is the safest option. Ingested seashells, even if chewed up, could become a life -threatening gastrointestinal foreign body obstruction/result in a gastrointestinal obstruction that would require an expensive surgery to resolve (with no guarantee of complete recovery). If Sadie continues to vomit, bringing her into your vet for diagnostics and treatment is the safest option. Symptoms of a foreign body obstruction include vomiting shortly after eating, minimal defecation, abdominal pain, and lethargy.
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